Mackie Mix8 8-Channel Compact Mixer

Again, if you are on a budget, this is a good quality mixer that will do the job for all like situations. I have been using it as it is very durable….it can take a beating it’s strong I recommend it.

Let me tell you about this Mixer. If you're looking for a device that will mix together 3 devices for monitoring or output, without any audio noise, this is the device you want.The price point is a little high for some, but you get what you pay for, especially if you want an introductory sound mixer. It has all the useful features you'd need to mix your audio together for monitoring or output, and requires hardly any tuning once you set it up right.Since it is a 5-Channel mixer, you basically only can plug in 3 devices total (and can cheat in 2 audio devices with the Tape setting with no sound control). Device one is set up to be your Mic (XLR) / Line in (1/4 or 6.35mm), Device 2 (2/3) is Left Mono (1/4 or 6.35mm) & Right Mono (1/4 or 6.35mm), and Device 3 (4/5) which are the same as Device 2.You have your Main Out which would mix the 3 Device above to a L and R Mono to (1/4 or 6.35mm), Then you have Phones (Headphones) which you can use to Monitor in Stereo with a (1/4 or 6.35mm).Of course there's also the Tape Setting which you can mix out or listen too with White and Red RCA and you can slot in 2 tape devices, but the mixer has no control over the audio volume or levels, and you can press a button to output to Phones or Main Out.The drawback to this devicve is that it controls both L and R audio at the same time on the device you slot into, if your trying to control the audio levels seperately you'd have to slot into a different device slot, but after that everything works perfectly out of the box, once you adjust the settings to how you like it.This compact mixer doesn't have a power switch, but for anyone thinking about unplugging it when not in use, you really don't have too, the device doesn't get too warm, and unplugging a device like this that doesn't have a power switch can actually lead to damage over time if you keep power cycling it that way.I bought this for streaming to mix down my Computer Audio and my TV audio into one device for my headphones and its worked like a charm. If you're looking to do the same you'll have to buy a few adapters and extra cables, but its well worth it.This was the third mixer I tried and a lot of the cheaper mixers I found on Amazon had weird audio hum/distortions that you couldn't remove even by adjusting the settings. This device worked out of the box with no distortions or audio interfearence.I highly recommend this device if you're looking for an easy to set up entry mixer.

This doesn’t have every feature that more expensive ones have. I wish it has an on/off power butt, mute button, but for the price works great. Clean sounding mic pres for rehearsal or live sound.

The Mix5 is just what I needed for my desktop setup, where I have two computers and a digital piano that I sometimes want to play through the same headphones or speakers. I'm not using it for recording (I have a fancy multitrack audio interface for that).I'm actually using it to mix three stereo sources. I'm surprised that Mackie doesn't claim 7 channels, but maybe having a pair of "tape inputs" that don't contribute to the channel count is standard. As long as you keep the "TO MAIN" button engaged and the "TO PHONES" button disengaged, it just mixes the tape inputs into the main mix (including to the headphones). There is no volume control for those inputs though, so you have to set the level at the source.The "TO MAIN" button should have been labeled "TO MIX", and in fact is is labeled "TAPE TO MIX" in the block diagram in the downloadable manual. The "TO PHONES" button, on the other hand, causes ONLY the tape inputs to be routed to the headphones; the rest of the mix gets disconnected (and the tape input signal gets much louder).Speaking of the manual, there is a much more complete manual online. The box only includes a printed "quick start guide". If you really want to understand the capabilities of this mixer, look at the downloadable manual.A lot of people probably want to know if this is worth the small amount of extra money compared with the Behringer XENYX502, which has almost identical features. I don't have that one, but based on reviews and specs I've found online, I think there are a couple of minor differences:* The Mackie's main outs are balanced TRS. As far as I can tell, the Behringer's are unbalanced. It's hard to be sure, because there are known errors in the Behringer's manual and specs.* One review of the Behringer said it didn't have rubber feet, and so it would slide around on their desk. I'm happy to report that the Mackie has some nice, solid-feeling rubber feet. Of course, you can get cheap stick-on feet, but I've found that those generally don't stay on very well.One thing that seems to be the same on both mixers is that the phantom power is non-switchable and is only 15V. Apparently this works reasonably well with a lot of condenser mics, although of course you don't get the same levels and dynamic range. I plugged in a Behringer C-2, basically the world's cheapest phantom powered mic, and I can confirm that it does indeed detect sound. I can't make any promises about any other microphone. This doesn't really affect me, since I have no plans to use my nicer microphones with this mixer's preamp, and in fact I may never plug a microphone into it again. But I'm disappointed in both Mackie and Behringer for not making this clear in the product descriptions. That's the main reason I've deducted a star.

I have bigger more featured mixers, but needed a small no-frills submixer. This fits that purpose perfectly.The FX section is ok, nothing amazing, but handy in a pinch.